Chiesa di San Floriano

In Canazei's historic centre stands the church of San Floriano, completed in 1592 and consecrated in 1603. It served as the village parish church from 1920 until 1942, was nearly demolished in the 1950s, and survives as a record of the older settlement.

Why it matters

San Floriano stands in Canazei's oldest centre, and its construction extended over a long period before the 1603 consecration. After the parish title moved to the Sacred Heart church in 1942, the building was used less and its demolition was discussed. In 1953 the heads of local families voted to preserve and restore it.

What to notice

The nave was lengthened toward the carriage road in 1879, then shortened in 1956 when the road was widened. Master builder Battista da Ronco of Canazei was commissioned to build the facade in 1595; a sacristy followed in 1607.

The church is dedicated to Saint Florian of Lorch. Fassa belonged to the diocese of Bressanone until the church transferred to the diocese of Trento in 1818.

Context and history

The end of the works is dated 1592, and the consecration was celebrated on 29 June 1603, a ceremony the sources attribute to Bishop Carlo Gaudenzio Madruzzo. The nineteenth century brought the transfer to Trento in 1818, a new roof in 1878, the lengthening of 1879 and a possible re-consecration in 1888. On 6 October 1915 the church was hit by a grenade during the First World War, when the Marmolada front lay only a few kilometres up the valley. Recovery followed quickly: on 21 December 1920 San Floriano was raised to the rank of parish church of Canazei.

That status lasted until 30 August 1942, when the parish title was moved to the new church of the Sacred Heart at Gries. San Floriano became a subsidiary church, and by the early 1950s its demolition was openly discussed. In 1953 the heads of the local families voted instead to preserve and restore it. The 1956 shortening for the road followed, a further renovation took place in 1972–1974, and the Friuli earthquake of 1976 caused only minor damage. It remains a filial church within the parish of Canazei, which the Archdiocese of Trento lists under the Sacred Heart of Jesus.